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WHAT TO K NOW AB OUT EXAM DAYWhat you can (should have) and cannot have in the exam room:Ye sNoSeveral No. 2 pencils, sharpened, with gooderasersCell phones, MP3 players, or any otherelectronic devices, including calculatorsOne or two reliable dark blue or black pens; avoidpens that clump or bleed.Cameras or other recording devicesA watch, so you can monitor your time. Make sureit does not beep or have an alarm.Books, including dictionariesYour Social Security numberScratch paperNotes you’ve made in advanceHighlighters

P REPARING YOURSELF P ERSONALLY1. Eat well in the weeks prior to the exam. Get used to eating breakfast, so that you can eat a goodbreakfast on exam day since the AP English Language exam is generally scheduled in the morning. Agood breakfast for your brain consists of fruit, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates. Also, drinkwater instead of sugared drinks. Energy drinks are notoriously loaded with sugar and should beavoided.2. Get enough sleep and not just the night before the exam. Establish good sleep patterns in the weeksprior to the exam. Teens typically do not get enough sleep. Aim for 8–9 hours a night.3. Wake up early enough to be fully awake and ready to go on exam day. Set your alarm so you don’toversleep. You don’t want to be groggy!4. Caffeine may help you be more alert, but overdoing it can make you jittery and make it hard for youto focus. If you are not accustomed to caffeine, you shouldn’t have any on exam day.5. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes on the day of the exam. Prepare for fluctuations in roomtemperature by wearing layers that you can adjust.See more in Chapter 2 about what you can do to prepare for exam day.

Chapter 2The Student’s Tools: What You Can Do to EnsureSuccessDiligence is the mother of good luck.—Benjamin Franklin

OVERVIEWAny study text is useless if you don’t pair it your best intentions. This brief chapter simply outlineswhat you can do to enhance your own success.

A STATE OF MIND: THE 3 D’s

DESIRE:This book can only help so much. You have to want to be successful. Your desire to do well musttranslate into your determination and diligence. In addition, your desire must be combined with a positiveand energetic attitude. You have chosen this task because you desire to push yourself. It won’t be easy, butmost things worthy of our time are not easy.

DETERMINATION:Whether or not you are using this book with a structured AP course, you have a lot to accomplish. Nobook or teacher can do for you what you need to do for yourself. You must be resolute in yourdetermination to accomplish your goals.

DILIGENCE:You have to keep at it, even when things get tough.Make a bracelet to wear that displays the three Ds to remind you about the importanceof your state of mind. If you ever feel like slacking, your bracelet can remind you to putyour all into the effort. You can also add Ben Franklin’s quotation, shown at thebeginning of this chapter, for inspiration.

A MATTER OF TIMEYou may have heard the saying, “What’s worth doing, is worth doing well.” This is so true for yourpreparation for the AP English Language and Composition exam. While the title of this book is APEnglish Language and Composition Crash Course, it will be very difficult for you to literally cram in ashort period of time. The information and tips you get in this book will help you either way, but it is bestif you start early enough to really learn what you need to know. Except for some literary terms, there islittle in this text that you can actually memorize. Instead, you need to develop your reading, writing, andthinking skills.It is best to give yourself at least six to nine months to prepare for the exam. If that is not possible, thena few weeks of serious review with this book will definitely help you earn a higher score on the exam.

SUGGESTED STRATEGIES F OR USING THIS B OOK1. Read the entire book, making notes about which chapters seem most necessary for you to study.Focus on what you need to know instead of what you already know.2. Make a goal sheet, listing specific tasks for the upcoming months. Examples of these tasks might be:Read and study several texts, maybe two books and four articles (See Chapter 4 for a list ofauthors and texts.)Practice annotating all the texts I read.3. Good goals have time limits, so be sure to say when you plan to meet your goals.4. Re-read this book as often as necessary to reinforce ideas. Most people will not remembereverything they read the first time.5. Make a short list of the five most important skills you need to improve before test time, such asreading complex texts or understanding satire. Find ways to practice those skills.6. Form a study team with friends who are also taking the exam. Learn from each other. Here are somereasons to form a study team:Quizzing each other on terms can help you remember them.You can share your essays with your group. Peer review can help you see strengths andweaknesses in your writing, and by reading others’ work, you can learn from them as well.If you all read the same books, you can discuss them, which helps to understand a text morecompletely.7. If you get frustrated, try these strategies:Analyze the reason for your frustration. Why are you frustrated? What can you do to lessen howyou feel?Take a short break to refocus: go for a walk outdoors, without headphones. Let nature (or thecity) help you get out of yourself for awhile.Talk to your study group and vent, but then find ways together to get back on track.Ask your teacher for help.

MORE TIP SPenmanship counts! Not everyone has good penmanship, but in preparation for the exam, you shoulddo as much as you can to improve your penmanship. If you do not write legibly on your essays, youare jeopardizing your score. You cannot expect tired, overworked AP exam readers to struggle withyour essay needlessly because they cannot read your handwriting. When you write your practiceessays, always use blue or black ink and always write with an imagined reader in mind.This exam is about scholarship. You should think of yourself as you embark on this “quest” as anupper-level scholar—a college student, really. If you wear the garb of a scholar, evenmetaphorically, it will influence how you think about things.Your attitude is more important than you think—it influences everything, even your physical wellbeing. A positive attitude will give you energy and confidence. A negative attitude will:—Limit your ability to read carefully (you’ll want to rush, skim, or get it over with);—Lead to frustration and fatigue;—Keep you from having an open mind;—Possibly infect others, giving them doubt about their own abilities.You need to study hard and take the exam seriously. However, this is just one test of what you knowat one point in your life. It is not the most important thing you will ever do. So try to keep it all inperspective. Try to have fun with all of this.

Chapter 3Classifying Nonfiction: Genres, Patterns, andPurposesWriting is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and non-fiction.And even there, who can be sure?—Tanith Lee

OVERVIEWThe word “genre” means type, and there are many and diverse types of literature in the nonfictionrealm, which seems to change daily, especially with Web tools like Facebook and Twitter. Are profileupdates or Tweets considered genres? Some of you have probably read multi-genre novels, like Avi’sNothing But the Truth and have seen how authors weave nontraditional forms with more traditionalnarratives to create interesting and new types of fictional texts.Nonfiction authors have also blurred the line between fiction and nonfiction in the latter part of thetwentieth century, blending the elements of fiction (imagery, figurative language, suspense, and evendialogue) with nonfiction prose. In general, this blend is called creative nonfiction.The essay itself is said to have originated with French writer Michel de Montaigne, whose short, topicfocused essays set the standard for what followed. For Montaigne, the act of writing the essay was the actof discovering knowledge. He was writing to know, and this may also be your essay experience on the APEnglish Language and Composition exam, as you will be pondering and writing about topics that you maynot normally think about in your daily life.To that end, the exam presents you with many engaging texts to read, think about, and write about. Itwould be nearly impossible to predict the actual genres of the texts you’ll encounter on your exam, as thefield is so rich and diverse. Surely, whatever the selections are, you can be certain that they will be“stylistically engaging” and “intricately constructed,” according to the College Board’s CourseDescription.What does this mean? Mostly it means that while the texts should prove interesting (topically), theywill present a challenge for you. They will be complex enough to put your thinking to the test, which is thepoint, after all, isn’t it?One purpose of this chapter is to suggest the types of literature that you may encounter on the exam andto briefly describe them. There generally are one or two questions on the exam that ask you to identify aspecific genre. This will help. In the “old days,” non-fiction meant biography, autobiography, factualreference, essay, and a few more. These days, the list is much longer. Which genre are you most interestedin reading? If you think a memoir sounds interesting, you might pick up that copy of The Year of MagicalThinking by Joan Didion from your mother’s bookshelf. It wouldn’t be a bad start to your study.

This chapter details the specific patterns of exposition that you are likely to encounter in your reading.You should also be able to use these patterns in your own writing. See Chapter 17 for more on generalessay writing.In addition, there is a brief look at journalism through the years. Many writers featured on the exam arejournalists. However, the timeline doesn’t actually list famous journalists. Instead, it gives you a glimpseof how American news gathering and dissemination has evolved over the years. Today’s journalists domore than write articles and columns. Some of them have helped make blogging a respected genre.

GENRE LISTThe following list is not complete, but does include the genres you are most likely to encounter on theexam based on a study of released exams. No matter what the genre, the writer’s purposes can be layeredand often are. A diary can provide information, chronicle a life, and also describe and persuade. Theletters John and Abigail Adams wrote to each other tell us more than details of their lives; these lettersare also important historical documents.Remember also that fictional elements are now used widely in nonfiction, an overlap that makes itdifficult to determine exact distinctions between the two.G e nreAt t ribut e s & No t e sAllegoryAllegory tells a literal story by using another story, a figurative one, to createambiguity. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is social criticism and satire veiledas a fantastical tale of strange lands and peoples.AutobiographyAn author’s story of his or her own life; written in first person. Varies from memoirin that it generally reads less like a novel (as memoirs often do) and more like achronological account, though there are no rules for either.BiographyA third-person account of another’s life.Blog Post (orWeblog Post)An entry on a personal or professional website called a blog; can be on any topic,from any point of view, and written for various audiences, various purposes. Truly ademocratic genre; anyone can write a blog.CreativeNonfictionA relatively new genre, creative nonfiction tells true stories using the tools fictionwriters use, such as plot narratives, imagery, dialogue, and more. Topics arediverse, from personal narrative to travelogues, and more.Critique(Criticism)Similar to a review, a critique points out the strengths and weaknesses of a work(art, literature, speech, performance, etc.).DebateA traditional debate is a spoken event in which participants (two opposing teams)argue (with supporting details) a controversial issue. Political debates featurecandidates (sometimes only two, sometimes many) who give their own point ofview on current topics.Diary(journal, log)An account that is kept daily, or almost daily, by an individual to record events ofhis/her life and to express his/her views.ExcerptA short portion of a larger text meant to stand on its own. You may be asked to inferthe broader context of an excerpt, such as from what genre it was excerpted or the

identity of the intended audience.EditorialWritten by the editor of a newspaper, traditionally, it expresses the view of theeditor or the editorial staff on an issue prominent in the news. An editorial istypically short (300–350 words) and generally persuasive.EyewitnessAccountA first-person report (primary source) of an individual who witnesses an importantor significant event. As each person’s point of view is affected by a wide variety oflimiting factors, more than one account is desired for a more objective view ofreality.FableA narrative meant to teach a lesson in which the characters are sometimes animalrepresentatives of human types or specific human beings, especially if used forsatirical purposes.History/HistoricalCommentaryA history is a factual account of an event or period in time. A historical commentaryis one person’s view of that event, so opinion is based on research, fact, orobservation.HomilyA sermon or a lecture, generally narrative in style, with a moralizing (didactic)purpose.ImageGraph, chart or other infographic. Could also be a photograph or other type of visualimage.Letter(epistle)Letters can take various forms, from business letters to personal correspondence.The genre now seems nearly obsolete due to e-mail, but historically letters werepreserved. Letters from writers, politicians, artists, and others are viewed ashistorical documents or even as literary works. Letters are also written for a widevariety of purposes: to inform, persuade, entertain, satirize, criticize, and more. Theterm “epistolary style” means in letter form.LiteraryCriticismBeyond a review, a literary criticism measures a work of literature against currentstandards; an analysis of a work that investigates a certain aspect of the work, suchas symbolism or irony. Literary criticism may also discuss the work as seen througha specific literary theory, such as feminist, Freudian, or Marxist.MemoirA personal narrative that reflects upon one’s own life experiences. May be lesschronological and encompassing than a typical autobiography.MonologueOne voice, generally first-person, narrates a train of thought or consciousness onone topic. Typically spoken, as on the stage for an audience.PersonalReminiscenceFirst-person account of a particular event in time.PoliticalCartoonGenerally a one-celled comic, the political cartoon is primarily satire, which hopesto point out inadequacies or corruption in the political sphere.

ReviewGives the writer’s informed opinion about the quality of literary works, movies orother visual media, art, music, even restaurants. Reviewers are called critics.SatireThe satirist seeks to improve society by showing its faults through irony and humor,either with a friendly nudge or sharp-edged jabs. See Chapter 15 for more on satire.SermonA speech given by the clergy to the congregation, typically didactic in nature.SocialCriticismVarious subgenres (satire, essay, speech, etc.) meant to criticize current socialtrends, philosophies, standards, mores, etc.SpeechOral essay, commentary; there is a wide variety of types of speeches. The importantdistinction is that a speech is spoken to an intended audience, which impacts wordchoice, etc.Travelogue/Place EssayThe setting provides the basis for the writing; the author recognizes somethingsignificant in the setting.TreatiseA formal and systematic exposition in writing of the principles of a subject,generally longer and more detailed than an essay.You may be asked to infer the broader context of an excerpt, such as from what genre itwas likely excerpted or the probable identity of the intended audience.

P URP OSES OF ESSAYS (OF WRITING IN GENERAL):While writers may have one main purpose in mind, they may achieve more than one simultaneously.You will be asked to determine the writer’s purpose on the exam, and should choose the author’s main ordominant reason for writing.InformTo give information, clearly and objectively.PersuadeTo convince another to adopt a point of view or engage in an action.EntertainTo provide humor and a pleasant escape.SatirizeTo point out flaws in people or institutions with the intent of making positive change.InspireThrough one’s own experiences or observations, provide models that guide or give hopeto others.ReflectTo think back upon, to put into perspective. Reflection is typically personal, but thinksof the self in relation to others, to history, or to events in time.DocumentTo mark in time, to record the significance of some event or action.

TYP ES (PATTERNS) OF ESSAYSPa t t e rnPurpo s eAnalogyTo explain something abstract or complex by showing its similarity to somethingsimpler and more concrete. For the analogy to be effective, the writer shouldassume that the reader is familiar with the subject. The main purpose of the analogyis to explain.Cause andEffectThe writer wishes to explain why. Types of causes are the immediate causes,which are encountered first, and the ultimate causes, which are the basic,underlying factors that explain the more apparent causes. Example: Mom was latefor work today because she overslept (immediate cause). She didn’t sleep wellbecause she was worrying about her annual employment review and hoped herboss would not bring up the obvious dip in quarterly sales, which she wasprepared to explain was due more to the economic recession than her ad campaign(ultimate cause). In writing a logical cause and effect essay, the writer mustconsider all possible relevant factors. There must be evidence for all assertionsand attention to objectivity.ClassificationThe author divides the subject into categories or other systems to analyze thematerial, such as types, si

ABOUT THIS BOOK This AP English Language and Composition Crash Course is the first book of its kind for the last-minute studier or any AP student who wants a quick refresher on the course. REA’s Crash Course is based on a careful analysis of the AP English Language and Composition Course Description outline and actual AP test questions.File Size: 2MB